Discharge valve for vibratory conveyors



y 1 A. suan'z DISCHARGE VALVE FOR VIBRATORY CONVEYORS Filed Oct. 9, 1967- 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. ALFRED SI BITZ flow/PM ATTORN EYS May 12, 1970 A. SIBITZ 4 DISCHARGE VALVE FOR VIBRATORY CONVEYORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fild Oct'. 9, 1967 INVENTOR. ALFRED I SIBITZ W -PJ ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent M US. Cl. 198-220 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A discharge valve or flap for tubular or trough-shaped vibratory conveyors or chutes is disclosed for opening and closing a delivery opening on the underside of the conveyor. The flap has a bottom portion and upstanding side Walls which decrease in height toward the rear or exit edge of the delivery opening. The flap is rotatable about a pair of horizontal axles or trunnions which are located on the center line of gravity of the flap, or at least close thereto. The flap is driven by means, such as a hydraulic cylinder, mounted on the vibratory conveyor and vibrating therewith. The discharge flap and its drive mechanism are set into the conveyor by flange connections.

(FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to vibratory conveyors and particularly to discharge flaps or valves for such conveyors.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART The invention concerns a discharge valve or flap for conveyors, preferably vibrator conveyors, with tubular or gutter-shaped cross-section in which the flap either opens or closes a delivery opening introduced on the underside of the conveyor. To open and close the delivery opening, the flap is rotated about a horizontal ax e. The material may discharge into a bin underlying the conveyor, or into another conveyor.

The discharge flaps or valves of the prior art rotate about a horizontal axis located at or close to the underside of the conveyor and running along the end of the flap. Thus, the axis of rotation of the flap is not at the center of gravity of the flap. As a result, when the flap must be quickly opened, or quickly closed, a very large opening force, or a very large closing force, is necessary, because the vibrational movements of the conveyor subject the flap to large accelerations. The large required opening or closing forces are produced in the prior art by spiral springs provided on each side of the flap.

In the prior art formof flap referred to above, the flap opens upward but it does not completely open because it is joined to the upper part of the conveyor, and the cross-section of free passage in the conveyor is narrowed because of the presence of the connecting element between the flap shaft and the flap bottom or floor. Also in the prior device, the operation of the flap is accomplished by a driving device located on the base frame of the conveyor, and if the conveyor be a vibrating conveyor, the driving device for the flap does not also vibrate. In practice, this type of drive, especially in conjunction with a vibrating conveyor, becomes complicated and subject to trouble and to considerable maintenance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To avoid the disadvantages referred to above, the present invention proposes that the horizontal axis about which the flap rotates shall run through the center of gravity of the discharge flap, or at least close to it, so

that the forces of acceleration mentioned hereinabove are not effective. In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing is achieved by mounting the flap on a pair of axles or trunnions mounted for rotation in the side walls of the conveyor. Further, in accordance with this invention, when the conveying device is a vibrating conveyor, the driving device is mounted on the vibrating conveyor itself to engage the axle of rotation. Such driving device may be a hydraulic or pneumatic working cylinder which follows the working vibration of the conveyor. This provides a constructionally trouble free connection between the moving parts of the working cylinder and the axle of rotation of the flap.

According to the present invention, the flap itself consists of a bottom portion .(which is the actual part which closes the discharge opening) and upstanding side walls which are secured to the horizontal axle or trunnions. The side walls preferably are of decreasing height toward the rear of the flap, i.e., toward the exit edge of the delivery opening.

Further, in accordance with the present invention, the discharge flap or valve, and the drive mechanism therefor, are designed as separate constructional elements which can be set into the vibrating conveyor, as by means of flanges, and which have a cross-sectional configuration which is adapted to that of the conveyor trough.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partly in section, of the discharge device of the present invention set into a vibrating conveyor;

FIG. 2. is a cross sectional view along the lines II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a simplified diagrammatic illustration of two discharge sections set into upper and lower vibrating conveyors, showing the drive means for opening and closing the discharge flaps.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a discharge section 10 set into a vibrating conveyor 9 and connected thereto by means of the flanges 12 provided at each end of the discharge section 10. The discharge section 10, and also the vibrating conveyor 9, are shown to be of rectangular crosssection, but could have some other configuration.

The floor of the discharge section 10 is provided with a delivery opening framed by the angular member 13. The discharge flap 14 comprises a bottom portion 14a, and upstanding side walls 14b. In the form illustrated in the drawing, the walls 14b are of decreasing height in the direction toward the delivery edge 15 of the opening, the side wall boundary being identified in FIG. 1 as 140. On the underside of the [bottom 14a of the flat 14, reinforcing angle irons 14d are welded to give the flap sufficient self-rigidity.

Secured, as by screws 17, to the upper edge of each of the side walls 10a of the discharge section 10, is a metal sheet 16 which projects slightly inwardly and then downwardly to provide a space between the sheet 16 and the side wall 10a for receiving the side walls 14b of the flap 14. The extent to which sheet 16 extends downwardly varies, being less at the front and greater at the rear, as seen clearly in FIG. 1 where the front is to the right and the rear is to the left. Thus, the sheets 16 provide a compartment on each side of the section 10 in which the side walls 14b of the flap 14 move as the flap 14 rotates during opening and closing movements.

The flap 14 is rotatable about the axle stubs 29' located at, or approximately at, the center of gravity of the rotatable flap. Each of the axle stu'bs 29 is mounted for rotation in a bearing 28 supported in a bearing support body 18 secured by screws 19 to the side wall a of the discharge section 10. Spacers 20 are provided between the bearing support body 18 and the side wall 10a of the discharge section.

The connection between the axle stubs 29 and the flap 14 can be achieved in a variety of ways. In the drawing, the axle stubs 29 are shown welded to ring members 22 which are secured to the side walls 14b of the flap 14 by the screws 23. In the preferred form, a reinforcing metal sheet 24 is interposed between the ring member 22 and the side wall 14b and is secured to the side Wall 14b as by welding.

Rotation of the flap 14 on the axle stubs 29 is accomplished by means of a lever 26 which is secured, as by nuts 27, to an extension 29a of the one axle stub 29, the right axle stub as viewed in FIG. 2. Any suitable drive means may be provided for moving the lever 26 to rotate the flap between opening and closing positions. To move from open to closed position, and vice versa, the flap 14 is rotated 90 about the axle stubs 29, as is indicated in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1, the flap 14 in closed position is shown in solid lines, except that where the side walls of the flap are hidden by the metal sheet 16 the flap side walls are shown in dashed line. The flap 14 in open position is shown in FIG. 1 in dot-and-dash lines. To change the flap 14 from closed to open position, the flap is rotated 90 about the axle 29, in the counter-clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1. This brings the floor 14a from the horizontal position to the vertical position, as viewed in FIG. 1. To close the flap 14, the flap is rotated 90 in the clockwise direction.

As previously indicated, any suitable means may be employed to rotate the flap 14 the required 90. FIG. 3 illustrates in simplified diagrammatic form one suitable means. In FIG. 3, a pair of tubular vibrating conveyors 9 are shown, one above the other, and a discharge section 10 is shown inserted into each of the conveyors and connected thereto by the flanges 12. Each of the discharge sections 10 is provided with a flap 14 rotatable about the axle 29 which is mounted in the bearing support 18. Rotation of the axle 29 is effected by the lever 26 which is adapted to be pulled and pushed through an angular movement of 90 by the piston and linkage 33 of the pneumatic cylinder 30 to which compressed air is supplied through the conduits or hoses 3. The air hoses 31 are supported on a bracket 34 and are supplied from a regulating valve 32 mounted on the base 36. In FIG. 3, the flaps 14 are in the open position and the piston 33 is in its extended position. To close the flaps, the extended piston 33 is retracted, thereby to effect clockwise movement of the lever 26 through an angular arc of 90, thereby to effect closing of the flap.

In FIG. 3, since the pneumatic cylinders 30 are mounted on the side walls of the discharge section 10, the cylinders 30 follow the vibratory motion of the vibrator conveyors.

As already indicated above, by supporting the flap 14 for rotation about an axle 29 which intersects the center of gravity of the flap (or is at least in the close vicinity thereof) the force necessary for swinging the flap from the open to the closed position, and vice versa, is substantially reduced. As a consequence, the power elements required to execute the swivel movement of the flap, which in the present illustration are the air cylinders 30, can be relatively small and fed directly to the compressed air source through flexible compressed air hoses or tubes. In brief, the construction provided by the present invention is relatively simple and cheap in comparison with devices of the prior art intended to perform the same function.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination:

(a) a conveyor having a bottom and two side walls;

(b) a delivery opening in said bottom of said conveyor;

(c) a discharge valve, said discharge valve in one position closing said delivery opening and in another position uncovering said opening;

(d) said discharge valve comprising a rotatable structure having a bottom and side walls, the bottom of said rotatable valve structure being shaped for closing said delivery opening;

(e) a trunnion supported on opposite side walls of said conveyor and located substantially on the center of gravity of said rotatable valve structure and above the bottom thereof, said rotatable valve structure being attached to and pivoting about said trunnions to assume closed and open positions;

(f) drive means for opening and closing said valve.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 characterized in that said trunion at one side of said conveyor extends outwardly from the side walls thereof, and in that said drive means includes lever means attached to said trunnion extension for rotating said discharge valve.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 characterized in that said conveyor is a vibrating conveyor and in that said drive means includes actuable piston means seated directly on the conveyor and following its vibratory motions.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 characterized in that the side walls of said rotatable structure possess a height which decreases toward the exit edge of the delivery opening.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 characterized in that said rotatable structure and said trunnion are mounted in a separate flanged tubular or gutter-type section having a cross-section corresponding to that of said conveyor and adapted to be set into said conveyor and attached thereto as an intermediate portion thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,806,583 9/1957 Morris 198-205 3,346,092 10/ 1967 Bowden 198-205 3,006,367 10/1961 Thompson 193-21 RICHARD E. AEGERTER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 198205 

